The Magnificent Lizzie Brown and the Devil's Hound (18 page)

“I can't imagine it,” said Nora.

“Neither can I,” Erin agreed, shaking her head.

Dru made a face. “I think, if I were not always on the road, I would feel dead inside.”

“What about you, Lizzie?” Hari asked. “You're the only one of us who's known it both ways. Do you miss living in a fixed place?”

Lizzie looked at the rows of hedges they were walking past. Dandelion seeds were blowing in the wind, the air carrying them far and free above all boundaries, like the roaming thoughts of a storyteller, or the wild dreams of a girl with her whole life still to live.

“No,” she said with a smile. “My home is always on the move now. And that's just how I like it.”

Lizzie lifted her feet from the sea bed and doggy-paddled for all she was worth, swimming past her friends and closer to where Dru was splashing. She wondered if he was impressed, but she couldn't tell. All her effort went into propelling herself forward.

The water below her swirled and rushed past, pulling her further out to sea.
I can handle this
, Lizzie thought.
I'm properly swimming now. If only Hari could see me now!

Suddenly Lizzie realized that there were no other swimmers in sight. The only thing she could see out this far were boats. She decided it was time to stop. The undertow had pulled her out a lot further than she'd meant to come. She put her feet down, expecting to find the sandy sea bed. Her feet went down . . . and down. As if she'd missed a step going downstairs, they plunged into nothing.

I've gone too far out
, Lizzie thought in sudden terror.
The water's deep here.
She floundered, gasping, only just managing to keep her head above water.
Remember what Hari showed you. Tread the water, circle your arms, don't panic.

But right then, a sharp pain split Lizzie's head in two as if an ax had struck her. Not a cramp but a vision, forcing itself behind her eyes at the worst possible time.

“No!” Lizzie gasped as she tried to shut it out. But there was no fighting the vision. It overwhelmed her mind, an image like a horrifying illustration from a book of ghost stories.

It was a ship of some kind, with a single mast, looming out of a thick white mist. A sickly green light blazed from the prow, casting eerie shadows across the dark waves. Dimly visible through the mist was a figure — the pilot of this strange vessel.

Lizzie didn't want to look, but her mind's eye swept closer anyway. The figure was wearing a ragged robe, like a hooded ghost from a stage play. It raised its arms, and from the depths of its black hood, Lizzie saw two gleaming lights like eyes.

It was real. A ghost ship, captained by Death himself.

Lizzie opened her mouth to scream, and the ocean flooded in. Salt water choked her. Struggling, her strength fading with every second, she sank beneath the water's surface.

The shadow on the ghost ship, still visible in her mind, reached its tattered arms out to grasp her . . .

The Magnificent Lizzie Brown is published in the United States in 2015
by Capstone Young Readers,
A Capstone Imprint
1710 Roe Crest Drive
North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
www.capstoneyoungreaders.com

First published in 2014 by Curious Fox,
an imprint of Capstone Global Library
Limited,7 Pilgrim Street, London, EC4V 6LB
Registered company number: 6695582
www.curious-fox.com

Text © Hothouse Fiction Ltd 2014
Series created by Hothouse Fiction
www.hothousefiction.com

The author's moral rights are hereby asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lockwood, Vicki, author.
The magnificent Lizzie Brown and the devil's hound / by Vicki Lockwood; illustrated by Stephanie Hans.
pages cm. -- (The magnificent Lizzie Brown)
“First published in 2014 by Curious Fox, an imprint of Capstone Global Library Limited.”
Summary: Lizzie is now an established member of Fitzy's Circus, but when the circus arrives in Kensal Green they are plagued by accidents and sickness--and Lizzie needs to put her psychic talents to use to solve the mystery of a graveyard haunted by a devil hound.
ISBN 978-1-4342-7941-5 (library binding)
ISBN 978-1-62370-070-6 (paper over board)
ISBN 978-1-4342-7943-9 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4965-0100-4 (eBook PDF)
ISBN 978-1-62370-279-3 (eBook)
1. Psychic ability--Juvenile fiction. 2. Circus--Juvenile fiction. 3. Haunted cemeteries--Juvenile fiction. 4. Grave robbing--Juvenile fiction. 5. Ghost stories. 6. Kensal Green (London, England)--Juvenile fiction. 7. Great Britain--History--19th century--Juvenile fiction. [1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Psychic ability--Fiction. 3. Circus--Fiction. 4. Haunted places--Fiction. 5. Grave robbing--Fiction. 6. Ghosts--Fiction. 7. Kensal Green (London, England)--Fiction. 8. Great Britain--History--19th century--Fiction.] I. Hans, Stephanie, illustrator. II. Title.
PZ7.L8192Mae 2014
[Fic]--dc23
2014001840

Cover illustration:
Stephanie Hans
Designer:
Kristi Carlson